These are some of my last words in The Observer, a publication for which I’ve worked since the beginning of freshman year. I have a love/hate relationship with The Observer. I love that I can call my co-workers my best friends. I hate when no one claims an important story and I have to do it last minute against my will.
Because of the hard times especially, The Observer has taught me many lessons. With a lot of practice, you can write a semi-coherent 500-word news article in 20 minutes. When you’ve edited hundreds of stories with AP style in mind, you write everything (including your senior thesis) in AP style. Nothing good happens after 2 a.m., except inappropriate quotes from your bosses that you’ll laugh about for the rest of your life (this goes out to you Sam Stryker).
I’ll save you, dear reader, from more of my personal nostalgia and go straight to my advice.
How many of you have ever been to a lecture on campus? Ones your professors require you to attend don’t count.
In my time at The Observer, I’ve covered lectures by the United Nations Deputy High Commissioner for Refugees, a professor emeritus in the Department of Development Economics at Oxford, the Archbishop of Seattle and many other talented leaders whom I never would’ve encountered had I not been an eager Notre Dame student reporter. These experiences have shaped the way I look at my academic pursuits and my career goals because I chose to go to talks that were relevant to my life.
I attended these lectures because The Observer informed me of them. As Associate News Editor, I always knew what was going on around campus (my secret: calendar.nd.edu), and I would pick stories to cover that suited my own personal interests (#priestbeat). But I’ve noticed that without the incentive of getting your obligatory Observer story finished for the week, a lot of students don’t take advantage of the amazing resources we have on campus.
In this half-semester alone, in addition to the lectures I’ve covered for the paper, my friends and I have gone to the Student Film Festival, a showing of “12 Years a Slave” in DPAC, the Collegiate Jazz Festival, the Keenan Revue and Theology on Tap. These events were all free or severely discounted for students. When else in life will such opportunities for culture be so cheap?
As my parting words, I want to thank The Observer for keeping me informed and exposing me to so many diverse aspects of campus life. Whether it was tracking the Office of Housing’s decision to do away with St. Edward’s Hall’s lofts, or sharing the story of a Notre Dame family’s search for God from the Rwandan genocide, my assignments at The Observer have made me a more well-rounded person and a more engaged Notre Dame student.
While I’d love for you all the join the paper (write for News, not Sports), I know that’s a little too ambitious. But I suggest you guys keep your eyes open for all the enriching opportunities Notre Dame affords. Four years go by pretty
